Chaka Khan - I Feel For You (1984)

What's more interesting is that Prince wrote the music and lyrics for many artists before he started becoming a talent of his own. Amazing.

The world misses you, Frankie Knuckles -

"Ain't Nobody" (with Chaka Khan)

"I Feel For You" was not written for Chaka, she covered it (as did the Pointer Sisters before her). Prince recorded it first. Chaka's version is the most dynamic and memorable. Prince was a big fan of Chaka's and he later composed several songs specifically for her.

sweet thing

This song has so many of the trappings if limited 80s pop yet it’s so sublime

I Feel For You is one of the best songs of the 80s.

Chaka Khan is SO underrated. Check out her music with Rufus from the 70s. Absolutely amazing. Little Boy Blue is a favorite of mine.

Chopped Pecan, Chopped Pecan, Chopped Pecan, baby bubba

"Some Love" is another 70s Chaka favorite of mine. She should've been a MUCH bigger star, with her talent.

Too ethnic. Pass.

If she's so "iconic," "underrated," etc., she ought to have a lot more memorable songs. She does have a great voice (or did), and I love "I Feel for You" as much as anyone, but I think she coasted on her voice for a long time.

[quote]What's more interesting is that Prince wrote the music and lyrics for many artists before he started becoming a talent of his own.

This is not correct. Prince didn't write songs for anybody else until he started developing his own stable (Vanity 6, Sheila E., etc.). He recorded all of his own songs himself. Other people (Chaka Khan, Sinead O'Connor, etc.) liked them and covered them. The only exception I can think of offhand is the Bangles and he was already a star by then.

I like the electro cover of Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive." Completely deconstructs the original and turns it into breakdance music.

He wrote / produced original music for Sheena Easton. 101 and Cool Love. He also wrote original music for Chaka Khan on the Paisley Park produced album he did for her in the late 90s.

I think the point is that he didn't really start doing that until he'd established a career of his own. He made his first album when he was 18 or something. I think his first "outside" project was the first Time LP in '81, three years after his debut.

[quote] If she's so "iconic," "underrated," etc., she ought to have a lot more memorable songs. She does have a great voice (or did), and I love "I Feel for You" as much as anyone, but I think she coasted on her voice for a long time.

Coasting on her voice? Most singers should be so lucky and have such a formidable voice. She is iconic because of her voice.

Remember the song Prince wrote for me, bitches?

She did record her share of mediocre material - no more than Whitney or Mariah or a lot of other singers. However, Chaka is one of the rare cases where I'll listen to mediocre material just to hear her sing. At her best she can transform a mundane song into something more interesting.

I Feel For You was the pinnacle of her pop success, but if you really want to discover the power of Chaka's voice and cultural significance, check out her early music with Rufus. That's a rabbit hole wothy of falling into. This is from Rufus 3rd album.

Chaka is a big fan of Joni Mitchell, and sang on "Dreamland" from Joni's 1977 album Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. She also covered "Ladies Man" from 1982's Wild Things Run Fast, at Joni's insistence. Khan wanted to record "Two Grey Rooms."

Chaka covering "Hejira"

I Feel For You is one of my all time favorite albums.

Could someone explain what makes Chaka Khan great? She’s spoken of with such reverence, way more than many other R&B or dance divas of her era. No shade at all, I’ve liked the few songs I’ve heard and she’s beautiful, I’m just not familiar enough with her to know what sets her above so many others in the genres she inhabits. There is something special about her.

The disco-y "Clouds" from the late 70s is another great one.

There's such a jazzy, irrepressible ebullience to her singing. Always makes me happy to hear her.

I love love love her voice, it's like a beautiful jazz instrument. Rufus is my go to when I need to listen to some funk.

This is one my favorites from Masterjam which showcases her range

Her voice is beautiful and unique at both ends. She has a lovely lower register and then she has a supernaturally strong, high belting range.

I haven't explored much of her discography but I stumble upon live performances on YT and she inevitably sounds fucked up. Fucked up as in high as a kite. There's one with Gladys Knight and Etta James. And a duet one with Whitney Houston. Credit where it's due, she never seems to shirk from singing the bridge to "I'm Every Woman", unlike Houston. I think Chaka would have a greater status if her drug use wasn't so obvious. People didn't know Houston was using in her live performances during her glory years. It's unmistakeable with Chaka.

She started feuding with her record company after I Feel For You's success. She admits she was told to make a commercial album, and while she loved Prince's version of the song, she cannot stand the rap on hers. But the label wanted her to be more pop.

Her next album, Destiny was just that, but her drug issues intensified and she eventually had to take time off to get sober. Her coke use had gotten so bad, she didn't leave her home for quite some time.

She had a sort of comeback with 92's The Woman I Am which gave her a number one R and B hit with "Love You All My Lifetime. But she left Warners shortly afterwards.

"Funk This" from 2007 sold quite well, and was considered a return to form.

Destiny may not be her strongest work, but I still loved the collaboration with Scritti Politti

I saw her perform live at a pride fest maybe 10 or so years ago, and she was fantastic. same pride fest had en vogue as the headliner either the year right before or after her headlining. I expected Chaka to be great, but en vogue really surprised me. I expected them to be one in done in terms of me wandering off, but they were so good it was impossible not to stay through theit entire set.

Arif Mardin really knew how to produce Chaka. The production on the I Feel For You album does sound of its time, but in a good way - it's sharp and muscular and clear, with Chaka utilizing both her powerful belting voice and her more nuanced balladry. I also recommend checking out the album she released previous to I Feel For You, her self-titled album from 1982. It was also produced by Mardin, and has a similar sound, with a bit more of a nod to Chaka's jazzy side.

I saw Chaka at a Pride event last year. She still sounds wonderful. She can still hit all the high notes.

Yes Chaka is one of the few of her contemporaries that survived the 70s, 80s and 90s and still manages to perform well and have a career today. Like r32 said she still performs like she did back in the day and she looks amazing.

She was a huge addict too and most of those people who got as far into crack as she was either didn't make it or they are completely removed from show business. I think her career never really reaching the heights it could have actually benefited her in the long run; she didn't have to be in the spotlight while she was going through it.

I think her run of albums from 1978 to 1992 is terrific. They seem to get better with age. "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" is a great album. Her self-titled 1982 album has an excellent cover of "Got to Be There".

1983 and 1984 were probably her peak years as a solo artist. "Ain't Nobody" and "I Feel for You" are classics. The opening beats for both are instantly recognizable.

Chaka has said she sang on Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love but Warner nixed it.

[quote]I think her career never really reaching the heights it could have actually benefited her in the long run; she didn't have to be in the spotlight while she was going through it.

Good point. Also, if she had reached the height of the music industry and all the pressure and bullshit that goes with it, she may have died young like Whitney.

Addicted To Love was supposed to be a duet with Chaka and Robert Palmer, but unfortunately Chaka's record label wouldn't give her a release to record with Palmer on his label. Chaka did do all of the vocal arrangements for the song.

Got To Be There is an amazing vocal performance by her...she was never better. And the album cover photo by Scavullo is fucking hot.

Chaka's voice still sounds the same which is absolutely amazing given her age, all the years of drug abuse, and the fact that she's never stopped smoking. Some people are just genetically blessed.

I love Chaka's voice and presence. While her top isn't as bright as, say, Whitney's, her voice has guts and jazz that give it power.

She's an earth mother, not a nymph.

Her work with Rufus remains her best.

Is "I'm Every Woman" her biggest hit? Through the Fire and Sweet Thing are covered a lot too.

"I Feel for You" was her only Top 10 solo hit on the Hot 100. She tended to be more successful on the R&B chart, where she had four #1s (including "I'm Every Woman"). Oddly enough, "Through the Fire" didn't perform that well on any charts, though it's remembered as one of her classics now.

[quote] She was a huge addict too and most of those people who got as far into crack as she was either didn't make it or they are completely removed from show business. I think her career never really reaching the heights it could have actually benefited her in the long run; she didn't have to be in the spotlight while she was going through it.

Chaka's fans have always been aware of her addiction issues. It manifested in uneven and disappointing live performances. Starting in the 80s sometimes she wouldn't show up or she'd get started really late and be thoroughly subpar. This reputation has followed her for decades. These last 2-5 years she has been on fire -- killing it with her vocals at every show. It is astounding that her voice has endured given all she's gone through. But even today, many of her casual fans from back in the day remember her as an unreliable live performer who'd be high as a kite onstage.

[quote] Oddly enough, "Through the Fire" didn't perform that well on any charts, though it's remembered as one of her classics now.

When "Through The Fire" charted on the Hot 100 in the 80s it peaked at something like no. 60 but it stayed on the chart for months. It established a longevity record for most weeks on the chart for a song that never cracked the Top 40.

Prince originally wrote "I Feel For You" for Patrice Rushen whom he had a crush on but she rejected it.

Yasssss!

Aint nobody is GENIUS!

UGH! Chaka Khan is a hardcore conservative republican who hangs out with religious right types like Pat Robertson.

I can't believe anyone in our community gives her the time of day let alone their money.

It's shocking that the DL seems to love straight & conservation celebrities more than LGBT's & liberals.

Except for R9, the other 45 posts on here are ass kissers to her.

I can't think of a liberal or a LGBT celebrity that can go that long in the comments without be skewered even though they are allies/us.

You guys do know she takes your $$$$$ & spends it on right-wing (a.k.a. anti-gay) groups/causes don't you?

I guess since born again Christians, blacks & repubs won't fully finance her career she turns to our community to pay her bills/fund her causes.

Ain't that a Stonewall riot

r47, bitch, I know you didn't just come on here saying Chaka is a Republican with nary link to back up your claims.

F&F for r47.

Chaka has always embraced her LGBT fans and performs at various Pride events going back more than a decade. Yes, she did perform at the Republican National Convention one year but only because she needed the money. Over the years, she has collaborated with several openly queer artists, including Me'Shell Ndegeocello and B. Slade.

Funky Dineva reviews Chaka's less than stellar performance this weekend in Miami's Jazz in the Gardens Festival at 12:20

He says she just got out of the hospital so that may have been it, but she seemed high as kite again

r2, you brought a tear to my eye...

Perfect. Frankie Knuckles was a genius at conveying crippling desire with the veneer of sophisticated ennui.

It would be funny, if you weren't crippled by desire.

Breathtaking.

I'm currently listening to her album from 1988 - C.K.

I love "Baby Me"

Shit album save for the 2 singles.

Yeah. The "C.K." album sucked, I never listen to it. She killed all the momentum she got from IFFY with "Destiny" and "C.K."

Chaka got lucky because she recorded it just as MTV was having a backlash against not playing black artists, Prince and Michael Jackson also benefited from it.

The I Feel For You album sucked except for I Feel For You and Through The Fire. The C.K. album overall was MUCH better.

IFFY most definitely does not suck. The production is very 80s and somewhat dated but it has some of her best vocals.

lol but the songs suck! Except for the 2 singles the rest of IFFY SUCKS.

What about ME?

Tell Me Something Good

Sweet Thing

I Am Every Woman

Roll Me Through The Rushes

Pappillion

Hollywood

so many great songs, such an amazing voice

Prince, prince, prince.

piss, piss piss.

[quote]The only exception I can think of offhand is the Bangles and he was already a star by then.

No. Prince wrote Manic Monday for the Apollonia 6 album, and there’s even a demo out there of them performing it. He then decided to take it from A6 and give it to The Bangles.

I like her duet with Steve Winwood, Higher Love

I like Chaka Khan's version of Prince's "Eternity". Though Sheena Easton version is really better.

DESTINY gets a bad rap, but that album has some great tracks. The blissful Scritti Politti-produced Love of a Lifetime is one of my faves from her. Some other memorable cuts were Who’s It Gonna Be, Tight Fit, the rock-tinged So Close, Earth To Mickey, and Watching The World (which featured Phil Collins on drums).

She performed So Close in the opening of that episode of HUNTER that she guess starred in...

Yesterday was her birthday and they played all of he videos on cable. I caught it around the time they showed the clip for IFFY’s excellent “This Is My Night”. The video has appearances by actors Wallace Shawn and Carol Kane.

she has a handful of good songs. a lot of filler too.

Performing on TOTP. Love it.

IFFY had her most catchy and accessible songs hands down. All 10 tracks are good or great.

It may be hard to appreciate it today but in 1984 it was very impressive that with IFFY Chaka successfully immersed herself in the heavily synthesized sound that was popular in the 80s. Other heritage artists tried but very few did it successfully.

The ‘80s synth duo The System had a big hand in the production of IFFY. Their biggest hit is the ‘80s classic DON’T DISTURB THIS GROOVE.

I'm a Chaka fan but I only like a few tracks off of IFFY. It's ok.

Love her. Hope she's well.

Chaka is a LEGEND.

R48 & R49 There are multiple sources online that pin her as a CONSERVATIVE republican including Ranker (although I haven't checked on there recently so she might have been knocked off their right wing lists).

R49 She might perform for LGBT events because as you mentioned she needs the money. She is the black version of actor Orson Bean who has played gay roles for money but votes & gives $$$ ((like what he got guesting on Will & Grace & other gay themed entertainment) to right wing causes. Even if other LGBT icons needed the money like Barbra Streisand, Liza Minelli or Belinda Carlisle, do you think any of them would grovel over to the republican convention regardless of the size of the paycheck? Hell no!!!

I know she's done the 700 Club on more than one occasion over the years but I can't find any of those appearances on You Tube. Other celebs that have appeared on the show like Billy Ray Cyrus (rumored to be a self loathing bi) & even Della Reese seem to be scrubbed off religious right web sites as well.

So to sum it up she takes are money & gives it to our enemies but she has never got a single penny from me. If you continue to give her your money than "I Feel For You".

r78 just drown in your bathtup. Seriously.

[quote]I know she's done the 700 Club on more than one occasion over the years but I can't find any of those appearances on You Tube.

Really? Have you looked hard enough?

If r78 just killed himself, this world would be a better place.

This album was the soundtrack of my first young adult forays into a real job and my very own apartment. I could afford a futon, a phone, a rug, a table and a record player -- and a couple of great albums, played over and over in big padded headphones, saving my life.

No r78. Chaka is a progressive liberal as regards social issues. She is outspoken on issues of social justice. She contributed a song and her image in support of BLM and related to Trayvon Martin's murder. She doesn't have Streisand (or Minnelli) money so didn't have the luxury of refusing to sing a few songs at the RNC for six figures. That is the only affiliation that would have her listed at that website. She has been on 700 Club because she had a spiritual awakening when dealing with a family tragedy several years ago. She is a stalwart LGBT ally. Just performed at 2017 Long Beach Pride. If you knew anything about her, you would know she is an activist and has been for decades.

[quote]she takes are money

ARE money? ARE????

Only Chaka, Vanity, Sheila E. & Rosie Gaines could sing Prince songs the way they were intended.

Bullshit, r5! Prince loved Sheena Easton too!

She's also a drummer!

She’s also an alcoholic! Yay!

I loved Hold Her from that Chaka album.

I always wanted Roisin Murphy to cover it....